Time To Talk Day 2016: Why speaking about mental health is so important

It’s Time To Talk outside the Doctor’s office (Illustration: Mmuffn for Metro.co.uk)

Today is Time To Talk Day (Thursday, February 4) – a day organised by anti-stigma campaign Time To Change, run by mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.

The aim of it is simple – to get as many people as possible across the country talking about mental health.

But, for many, talking about mental illness isn’t simple.

Unless you or a member of your family has a mental health condition you may not understand the stigma surrounding them.

So, as someone who is bipolar, let me try and help you.

Imagine one of your leg’s dropped off.

Pretty shit, but it gets worse.

Now imagine you’re the only one who can see it’s dropped off.

Your boss wants to know why you won’t join the work team and take part in the charity marathon.

You boyfriend wants to know why you don’t feel like dancing any more.

Your friends want to know why you’ve stopped playing football with them.

When you finally find the courage to tell someone about your missing leg, your friends suspect you brought it on yourself with drugs, your colleagues suspect it’s part of your personality or somehow a choice, and your family don’t know what to think.